"Is that it?!!?" will probably be the refrain as you take leave of 'A Perfect Murder'. And this is inspite of the talented Michael Douglas, whose portrayal of a sleazy rich person in recent movies, will be hard to beat for a long time.

The plot is fairly commonplace. Husband on shaky financial grounds hires wife's lover to kill her. The title 'A Perfect Murder', suggests a meticulous build up, in true 'Holmesian' tradition, towards a gory cause. The first half of the movie does have its heart-stopping moments. Striking camera angles (a bit overdone towards the end, especially of the penthouse), crisp editing which leaves you gasping at times and above all, superb music that lends the perfect edge to some scenes. When the murder attempt goes awry, the script and with it, the movie loses direction and your attention.

'A Perfect Murder' is a remake of the 1954 Hitchcock classic, 'Dial M for Murder', prompting one critic to rename this 1998 version, 'Dial M for Mediocrity'. There are those who believe that this is a better version, which is being unfair to the original. Michael Douglas is a treat to watch and hear, as usual. Gwyneth Paltrow's portrayal of the rich wife suffers from superficial characterisation. The rich wife shifts from being the helpless girl to a sure-fisted adversary in the span of just two consecutive scenes. Viggo Mortensen as the lover with a criminal record of seducing rich girls is convincing and consistent.

Too much cannot be said against the movie considering its classic roots, but Hitchcock or no Hitchcock, the embarassingly tame end will not satisfy the thriller- hardened 90's viewer.